About Me

Bilingual Roman Catholic priest of the Southern Dominican Province. The "homilettes" on this website are completely the work of Fr. Mele. He may be contacted at cmeleop@yahoo.com.
Telephone: (415) 279-9234.

John Donne’s meditation “No Man is an Island” is
reminiscent of Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel. A bell tolls in Donne’s essay, and people ask,
“Who died?” The point is that a tolling
bell should remind everyone that she or he is going to die. Similarly Jesus uses the image of a fig tree to
tell his disciples to take notice to what is happening around them.

Just as the budding of the fig tree foretells the coming
of summer, the destruction of Jerusalem augers the return of Jesus in
glory. Although his return has not yet
taken place in a definitive way yet, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in
the year 70. Apparently the “times of
the Gentiles,” which Jesus refers to earlier in the long passage, is still in effect. Nevertheless, billions of people have come to
their individual end in death. Jesus’
words then should be taken as a warning of this eventuality.

We prepare for death by living as justly as
possible. First, we owe God constant and
fervent thanks. Then we must care for
ourselves and those closest to us – family, co-workers, and friends. Finally, we need to assist the poor. We have to use our resources to help them
live with dignity.

In his seminal exhortation on evangelization, Pope Paul
VI wrote: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and
if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” Little is said about the apostle Andrew in
the gospels outside of the stories of his being called by Jesus. But as Paul VI said, the witness that he
gives in these calls speaks forcefully through the ages.

Peter and Andrew are probably like most fishermen. They love the sea not only as the source of
food for the table but also for the freedom it brings. On the sea in their boat no one is tells them
what to do. But for the two brothers in
today’s gospel the call of Jesus is more powerful than the attraction of the
sea. They tarry not a minute but respond
to his beckoning at once. Their leaving
boat and even their father testifies to Jesus’ primacy over everything else.

We need to give witness as well. It starts with how we present ourselves. Do our homes feature a cross identifying
Jesus as he who brings peace to our lives?
Do we mention Jesus as the source of any goodness we have and the goal
of our lives beyond death? Exhibiting a
cross and indicating Jesus’ authority in our lives serve to purposes. They evangelize others, and they keep us rightly
focused.

Recently Fr. John Jenkins, C.S.C., the president of the
University of Notre Dame, publicly defended one of the university’s faculty
members from an unjust accusation. When
a law professor of the university was nominated for a federal judgeship, a
number of senators attacked her as living by dogma. What bothered the senators was the professor’s
conviction that abortion is wrong. Fr.
Jenkins wrote an open letter saying that he too lived by dogma as do millions
of other Americans.

The implied criticism of Church dogma reflects today’s
gospel. Jesus tells his disciples that
they will be persecuted because they preach him. The persecution begins soon after his death
and resurrection as attested in the Acts of the Apostles. It waxed and waned for three hundred reaching
a climax just before the Emperor Constantine granted Christians religious
freedom. And it has never really ended
until the present day. Christians themselves
have sometimes provoked harsh reactions, but more often people resent the
Church for preaching the justice of God’s kingdom.

We should not be surprised if we hear snide remarks made
against us. A generation ago Catholics
were supposedly undermining the common good by having large families. More recently we are ridiculed for believing
in what the sophisticated call fantasies such as the resurrection of the
dead. As Jesus advises, we should not
become too outraged. Rather our stance
should always be like his cool defense of what we believe. It does not rest on sophisticated argument
but on the gospel we receive from him.

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Ozymandias” relates how the
statue of an ancient Egyptian king was found in the middle of a desert. The statue’s shattered state belied the sign it
bore naming the figure “Ozymandias, King of Kings” and telling the on-looker to
despair in awe. The poem reminds the
reader that the greatest works of art as well as the greatest people are all
time-bound. Their fame hardly lasts for
centuries, much less for eternity.

In the gospel Jesus relates the same prophetic message. People gaze starry-eyed at the wonders of the
Temple, but
Jesus tells them not to be impressed.
The Temple,
he says, will fall as it indeed did barely a generation after his death. Jesus also warns his disciples not to follow
unreservedly the great personages who may claim to be like him. These men and women will also pass away.

We Christians give full allegiance only to God. He is the source and goal of our lives. Yes, we cooperate with others in effort to
make of the earth a decent habitat for all humans. But we should not become too comfortable and
never complacent here. We seek a peaceful
earth so that we might come to know and love God who promises us heaven as our
true home.

A man with a Ph.D. in biology enjoys talking about the diet
of Chinese peasants. He says that since
they are dirt poor, Chinese peasants can afford little meat and dairy
products. Rather, he explains, they
mainly eat vegetables and receive the protein that their bodies require from
beans and other legumes. The authority is
convinced that this diet is not inferior but significantly superior to richer,
western diets. He believes that the fats
westerners assimilate from eating meat not only threatens their hearts but also
are related to cancer.

The results of the vegetarian experiment related in the
first reading today, then, should not be surprising. Although the chamberlain believes that Daniel
and his companions would be undernourished by the diet, actually they prove to be
healthier than the others because of it.
But, of course, good nutrition is not the prophet’s point in relating
this story. He means to tell us that
when we abide by the Lord’s will, things always work out for the best. We do not need to worry, as Jesus says, about
what we eat and drink or about what clothes we wear when seek first God’s
kingdom.

Jesus reaffirms this lesson in the gospel today. He praises the poor widow for generosity, a
virtue extolled throughout this Luke’s gospel.
Sometimes we think that we might ignore God’s will as expressed by Jesus
in order to secure more of a desired good.
Some people argue, for example, that it would be all right to take the
life of a patient suffering from incurable cancer so that she does not suffer. But such an action would violate the sanctity
of human life, one of the highest principles of God’s law. No, we want to go out of our way to comfort
and console those in agony. When we do
so, both they and we will benefit.

Today Vietnamese Catholics celebrate their heroes. St. Andrew Dung-Lac and companion martyrs
gave their lives rather than relinquish their Christian faith. These “ultimate sacrifices” have made it
possible for their descendants to look forward to eternal life. The celebration is similar to that described
in the mass’s first reading.

The passage tells of how the Jews burnt offerings and
sang hymns of praise for eight days.
They were celebrating the rededication of the Temple that had been
desecrated by pagan overlords. Many
valiant Jews died in the hostilities that liberated the land from foreign
rule. In his day Jesus too celebrated
the feast, which is commonly known as Hanukkah.

More important, for our purposes today at least, is Jesus’
great sensibility for the Temple itself.
As the meeting place of God and humanity, he chases the money changers
from its confines. His followers will later
note how Jesus himself is the prime referent for our encounter with God. In this sense he has replaced the Temple with
his flesh and blood. Nevertheless,
Christians still need places to pray so they construct temples, which we usually
call “churches.” Still at the dedication
of a Catholic church it is always Jesus who is glorified.

Huntington’s Disease is one of the worst maladies known in
medicine. It attacks the brain leaving bearers
of the disease physically and mentally incapacitated. In listening to testimonies of Huntington
Disease sufferers, one is surprised to hear some describing themselves as “blessed.” It is not a universal claim, but it is heard
from different patients. People have
been good to them and they have experienced something of the sweetness of life.

On Thanksgiving Day most people likewise sense that they
are blessed. There is time to reflect on
all that they have and are. They can
name some of those who provided them education and opportunity, but they
realize that the list cannot be exhausted.
Indeed, most get an inkling that the blessing has been bestowed from on
high. We know this elusive, benign
benefactor as the Lord God who made us and sustains us.

The Samaritan in today’s gospel has a true insight into
the extent of God’s blessing. After
being cured of his leprosy, he goes to thank Jesus. He might have followed his nine companions to
the Temple. There he would have paid homage
to God as well as have received the confirmation of healing from the
priests. But the Samaritan realized that
Jesus had something fundamental to do with his fortune. And so should we! God has not only blessed us with human life;
through His Son Jesus Christ He has granted us a share in His eternal life. We experience a foretaste of this new life when
we come together for the Eucharist. We also
receive a sense of eternal life as we gather with family and friends around the
Thanksgiving table.

Thursday of the
Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Maccabees 215-29; Lucas 19:41-44)

A proverb says, “The old man who will not cry is a fool.” Everyone should come to tears as she or he
realizes that life is often tragic because people fail to learn its most
important lesson. The lesson is to give
glory to God by caring for one another.
Too often humans take life as a game in which they are to gain as much prestige
and prosperity for themselves as possible.

In the passion account of Luke’s gospel, Jesus tells the
women of Jerusalem
that they are not to weep for him but for their children. In today’s passage he does exactly this. Jerusalem
refuses to learn life’s lesson taught in the Law, reiterated by the prophets,
and confirmed by Jesus himself. Its
inhabitants would rather retain its values of wealth and honor. Although Jesus is hardly an old man, in his
day at thirty-three years he has already entered middle age. In any case he shows himself as wiser than
the ages with his tears.

Should we cry at what we see around us? There is, for sure, enough egotism about to
make even children weep. After we shed
our tears we should resolve to live lives worthy of the gospel. That is, we should amend our ways by placing
the good of others alongside our own and by praying that God turn the situation
around.

One of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century
was completed on December 10, 1948. On
that day the United Nations overcame cultural and ideological barriers to adopt
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Of course, the system of rights and responsibilities has not always been
honored by its signees. Even the United
States for a number of years after the declaration’s passage permitted widespread
racial discrimination.

One right at the very core of the freedoms expressed in the Universal
Declaration is that of practicing one’s religious beliefs. Taken seriously, religion is not a personal
choice much less a whimsical fancy, but the following of one’s conscience where
God speaks to the person. It is also
constructive of a good society. All religions
worthy of the name should guide their adherents to virtue. Where religion is repressed, on the other
hand, rebellion follows discontent and disruption of peace.

The pious story in today’s first reading tells of a vicious ruler
who tries to suppress the Jewish religion.
Evidently many Jews went along with the barbarism, but not all nor,
perhaps, even the majority. Those who
did buy into the tyranny possibly thought, like many do today, that religion
does not matter as long as there is food on one’s table. The mother and her seven sons knew better. Because they believed that violating a
commandment of God is worse than death, they willingly accepted the latter. Their sacrifice anticipated that of Jesus who
likewise died in obedience to God and that of St. Cecilia, a third century
Roman martyr, whom we remember especially today. However, Jesus’ martyrdom was greater in a
real sense than all others. Although he
lived a completely righteous life according to the tenets of Jewish belief, he suffered
not just the outrageous decision of the political regime but the contempt of
the religious leaders in his land.

The readings today tell the stories of two Jewish
heroes. The first is an old man,
Eleazar, whose lengthy life has become the source of sorrow. Foreigners are imposing their ways on his
native Israel. What is worse, the people
are cooperating with the oppressors. Now
his own friends call him to join in their abandonment of God’s law. He resists the temptation and pays the price
of fidelity with his life.

The second hero is an unlikely tax-collector. Zacchaeus supposedly takes what doesn’t belong
to him under government auspices. But really
he is a man who is so righteous that he exults in the possibility of seeing
Jesus, God’s prophet. He proves his zeal by showing Jesus that he goes beyond
the law’s letter. He is willing to give
half, not just a tenth, of his belongings to the poor and pay back four times,
not just twice, if he has extorted anything from anyone.

There is another Jewish hero whom we celebrate
today. She was as faithful as the morning
sun in following the law. She could not
refrain from singing God’s praises.
Today is the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the
Temple. She is dedicated to God who will
ask her to give birth and educate His Son, Jesus. Because she too has lived a righteous life,
the responsibility will not be impossible.
Because she can count on God’s grace, she will accomplish the task with distinction.

Faith is sometimes said to be another way of seeing. Rather than perceiving color, faith finds spiritual
lights. Faith is aware of a God who
loves humans. It accepts the promise of
resurrection of the body and eternal life.
In the gospel today faith enables the blind man to recognize Jesus as
the “Son of David,” the long-awaited Savior.
This faith would have saved the blind man even if Jesus did not bless him
with physical sight.

Determination characterizes the blind man almost as much as
his faith. When the people rebuke him
for calling out, he does it all the louder.
Because of his insistence, Jesus notices him. It might be asked whether the blind man is more
interested in attracting attention to himself than in being cured. Jesus, however, finds him sincere when he
grants his request.

The blind man immediately follows Jesus. He literally becomes Jesus’ disciple. We can take him as a model disciple. His faith, determination, and sincerity
before the Lord show us how to better follow Jesus.

On cold autumn days one may be inclined to worship the
sun. Its warm rays bring a modicum of
comfort, and its brightness cheers up the prospect of a long, cold winter. Who is not grateful for these gifts? There are further ways in which the sun benefits
humans. It brings about the growth of
food and provides energy for a plethora of artificial comforts. Nevertheless, today’s first reading from the
Book of Wisdom critiques sun worshippers as not looking deep enough into reality.

Wisdom was written to assure the Jews of ancient Alexandria of
the worth of their religious tradition. It
finds wanting the tenets of scientific inquiry when compared with the
implications of biblical faith. Heavenly
bodies, it concludes, are hardly worth human credence. One has to look beyond material being to find
the omnipotent, spiritual cause for existence.

Today scientists do not look to the heavens to find their
God. Many do not believe in any first cause
at all. If such a creator exists at all,
they say, it could hardly be the personal God of the Judeo-Christian
tradition. We, however, know by faith
that God loves each one of us even those whose lot is very difficult. We have seen in Jesus our God’s gracious
touch. Now, as today’s gospel has it, we
await his coming to prove us right.

People usually think of their own age as the
greatest. But is our own age so
wonderful? Its representative products –
the iPhone, the plasma TV, the global positioning device – seem to provide the
rich with outlets for their wealth more than they help me to live more happily. Can we not ask with T.S. Eliot a few
generations ago, “Where is the Life we
have lost in living?Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?Where is the knowledge we have lost in
information?”

Today’s first reading reminds us that wisdom has an
eternal character that is available in every age. It is also universal so that both rich and
poor may partake of it. In contriving
twenty-one attributes the author shows how wisdom, and not the products of
technology and commerce, makes life worthwhile.
The number, incidentally, symbolizes absolute perfection being the
product of seven -- representative of simple perfection -- and three --
indicative of the divine.

Wisdom admonishes us to discern the true value of every
created good. It recognizes the
satisfaction that comfort and convenience bring us but realizes that these do
not comprise happiness. Most
importantly, it understands that fulfillment is found in our striving to live
righteously. Beginning with God and not
overlooking the simplest person nor ignoring ourselves we wisely give everyone
her/his due.

Optional Memorial
of Saint Albert the Great, bishop and doctor of the Church

(Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19)

St. Albert has been justifiably called “the great” for
his many accomplishments. He excelled as
a scientist, a philosopher, and a theologian.
He also won the respect of both peers and superiors. He was elected provincial of his German
Dominican province spending much time defending the mendicant orders from their
detractors. He was also made a bishop
with the task of reforming his diocese.

Albert could hardly have been a proud man. Despite his achievements and high positions
he spent the last years of his life defending his student, St. Thomas
Aquinas. The latter, whose name today is
synonymous with Catholic orthodoxy, was accused of heresy for writing favorable
things about pagan philosophers. As one
who searched for truth, Albert did not allow the misjudgment to prevail. In the
quest for righteousness Albert heeded the advice of today’s first reading. The Book of Wisdom teaches that great people
must not exalt their own power. Rather,
they need to both study and follow the ways of the Lord.

Our minds do not likely measure up to Albert’s intellect. Nor is it probable that we have his
organizational capacity. But we can
emulate his holiness. We can be humble
before others. We can study and perhaps defend
the truths which the Church teaches. Most
of all, we can love God by seeking to do His will above everything else.

The Book of Wisdom was probably composed during the century before
Christ in Alexandria, Egypt. In some
ways the Jews in that context were dealing with the same challenges Christians
face today. Individualism was on the rise
along with skepticism concerning traditional beliefs. In face of religious persecution religious
people were turning to paganism and secular philosophy for consolation. The author of Wisdom searched the ancient
texts to address these challenges. He
maintained that by living according to the Law Jews could be assured of eternal
life.

This sounds like Christianity's message, but there is a critical difference. Jesus promises much more than the existence of
the post-mortem soul flying like a spark in a fire. His resurrection from
the dead offers followers the prospect of their bodies being likewise glorified.
Like him they are to enjoy the wonders of creation without the maladies that present
corporality bears.

Wisdom's message is especially timely in November when we remember our beloved
dead. It shores up our hope for reunion as it anticipates eternal
life. We should not presume, however,
such a blessing as a given for all who have lived. It is the outcome of those who have made the
conscious decision to serve the Lord. As
today’s gospel indicates, we must humble ourselves and help others.

St. Frances Xavier “Mother” Cabrini died shortly before
Christmas exactly one hundred years ago.
She left behind a legacy of charitable work that stretches throughout
the United States. With great zeal she
established hospitals, orphanages, and schools from New York to Settle. More basic still, faith working through love
moved her to accomplish so much. Like
Mother Teresa of Kolkata in the latter part of the twentieth century, Mother
Cabrini was known as a living saint in the first part. She may be considered an example of today’s
gospel lesson.

Jesus’ disciples stand daunted by his command that they
forgive a brother seven times a day. They
ask him for an increase of faith to meet the challenge. Jesus responds saying that they have more
than the requisite amount. He says that the
tiniest bit of faith could uproot trees and move them into the sea. They only have to employ it. Mother Cabrini had to overcome great
obstacles in her life from a weak physical constitution to difficulties with
prelates. But unwavering faith enabled her
to coordinate resources on both sides of the Atlantic to improve the lot of millions
of poor people.

We are wise not to underestimate our own
possibilities. When we put our minds to
a task and ask God’s help, we too can achieve significant results. Jesus will be with us to enlighten our way
and fortify our will. With him as the object of our faith we can
assist many.

A leading social activist was fond of saying: “Money is like
fertilizer; it needs to be spread around before it does much good.” In the gospel today Jesus expresses assent to
this way of thinking. He uses a parable
to demonstrate to his disciples that they should disperse their resources. If they wish to gain a place in eternal life,
they must help the poor.

Nonetheless, this parable has furrowed Christian eyebrows through
the ages. Many wonder whether Jesus is
approving of fraud when he praises the steward who uses his master’s money to
assure his own welfare. However, Jesus’
approval is similar to that of a theft victim standing in awe of the thief who
picked his pocket without him feeling a thing.
One should be impressed by the capacity of the steward to provide for
his future with the few resources remaining to him. Jesus does not call his action righteous only
phronimOteroi, a Greek word that is
better translated as disposed (to the
times) than as prudent.

The key to the passage is to understand what it means to be
“children of the light.” Christ has opened
our eyes so that we see the poor as our brothers and sisters providing us
opportunity to demonstrate our love for him.
Surely our discipleship of Christ involves more than prayer and
fellowship. It requires service which we
render by working for a just society.

Today’s feast, the Dedication of St. John Lateran, is
somewhat of an anomaly. That is, it is
somewhat unusual. We seldom celebrate
the anniversaries of churches. But the
Lateran Basilica, as St. John’s is often called, is also known as the “mother
church of Christendom” or “the pope’s church.”
In celebrating it we celebrate all Christian churches.

Today’s gospel shows Jesus driving money-changers from the Temple area. Speaking of anomalies, we see Jesus in this
scene, which is repeated in each of the four gospels, using force. He did not regularly resort to arms or tolerate
their employment. Jesus remains the
Prince of Peace who warned us that the one who “lives by the sword dies by the
sword” and commanded us to “love your enemies.”
Yet he takes us the whip evidently as an extreme act to show necessary
regard for God’s house.

We should have a similar reverence for our churches. God can encounter humans anywhere He
chooses. But we build churches that
glorify Him so that He might choose to meet us there regularly. As we enter church, we customarily dip our
fingers in the holy water font and make the sign of the cross. This signifies our cleansing ourselves of the
contaminants of the world – the inordinate desire for fame, fortune, and fun –
so that we might listen to God talk to our hearts.

The mystic Henri Nouwen wrote a book about praying with
open hands. He said that prayer is
difficult because it demands that we open our inmost being – our sins, our
desires, our insecurities – to God. The
image he used to express the reluctance to do this is a closed hand. A closed hand often clings to something that
it cannot release. One cannot pray with
a closed hand but must open it. In today’s
gospel Jesus says something very similar.

At the end of this astounding passage Jesus tells the
crowd that they must give up all their “possessions” if they wish to follow
him. In first century Israel this
sacrifice often entailed loss of house and family as one is ostracized for
being a Christian. Today “possessions”
should be considered as more inclusive.
It means not just material things but the old prejudices, dislikes, and
corrupt hearts to which people are wont to cling.

Giving up all that we have frightens us. “Perhaps we are
being deceived,” we say to ourselves. “What
if I change my mind?” we ask. Jesus would
answer that he is with us to provide the support we need to find our way to
eternal life. There we shall be rewarded
well beyond any sacrifice we are asked to make now.

Linus, the character of the Peanuts cartoon series, is
fond of saying: “I love mankind; it's people I can’t stand.” He is wise for recognizing a very common
frailty. Most people consider themselves
as tolerant and respectful of others.
But in individual cases they often show themselves to be less understanding
than they think. In today’s first
reading St. Paul exhorts the community at Rome to live up to their expectations.

After laying out his theology, Paul has begun his moral
exhortation in this twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Romans. He wants the community to avoid competitiveness
and disdain. They are to recognize one
another’s gifts, to be sincere in their displays of affection, and to be
compassionate to those who are suffering.

We must see individuals as our opportunities to practice
charity. By charity we do not mean contributions
to organizations. Rather, it is the
virtue by which we love God and neighbor. It is not easy as other people differ
from us, sometimes so much that what they do does not make sense. Yet they are – to one extent or another –
children of God and, therefore, worthy of our care.

Anti-Semitism has marred western
civilization since the time of Christ.
The polemic against the Pharisees and, to an extent, all Jews in the gospels
is understandable. Jews had ejected
Christians from synagogues where they prayed together. Although some Church Fathers wanted to protect
Jews, others quite vehemently condemned them.
The influential Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 mandated that Jews wear
marks of identification which could not help but increase hateful
discrimination. The Jewish list of
grievances extends for volumes.

St. Paul certainly had a different
perspective. He never forsook his Jewish heritage although, of course, he swore
complete allegiance to Christ. In today’s
passage from the Letter to the Romans Paul affirms that God’s election of
Israel as His “Chosen People” cannot be undone.
As unlikely as it may seem, he foresees the time when they too will become
part of Christ’s fold.

With society becoming increasingly
fractionated, we must be ready to stand up for all minorities. We should not allow prejudicial remarks
against Blacks, Jews, and other traditionally slandered peoples go uncontested. Jesus was a Jew, but more importantly he
suffered and died on behalf of all. If
we really love him, we will defend the dignity of all human beings.

St. Martin de Porres has been named the patron saint of interracial justice.He was the son of a Spanish father and a Panamanian (African) mother in Lima, Peru.He knew racial prejudice growing up.As a child, he felt called to be a Dominican friar, but he was not permitted to join the order.Because he had African parentage, it was not supposedly possible for him to become a religious.He did not abandon his vocation but offered himself as a servant for the local Dominican monastery.Faithfully serving the friars in menial tasks, he was put in charge of distributing the community’s alms to the poor.In time he was allowed to take the one vow of obedience which all Dominicans make.He cared for Lima’s sick with his knowledge of herbal medicine and was known as a friend to all kinds of animals.

Martin not only reconciled peoples of different backgrounds but also various kinds of animals.He tore down walls of hateful discrimination by showing love and patience to everyone.Like him people of African descent in American society have waited patiently for equal treatment.Yes, some have demonstrated openly their disgust with being treated with suspicion and contempt. And there is a disproportionate amount of social pathology in African-American communities. But most of the people there work hard and deserve to be duly respected.

In today’s first reading St. Paul writes of the Jews as his “own people.”Becoming a Christian, he did not forsake identifying himself with his nationality.Likewise, we need not imagine a color-blind American society. African-Americans have a culture and a tradition that have helpfully contributed to American life.They should not be considered inferior but should enjoy equal dignity with citizens from other backgrounds.

At the funeral mass of a man who committed suicide
someone made a curious testimony.He
said that the deceased lived a good life and was surely enjoying eternal rest.For ample reason the Church no longer denies
Christian burial in case of a suicide.But
it is presumptuous to claim that one who takes his or her life is with
God.The best that can be done is to hope
that the person was not fully aware of what was being done or repented before
life drained away.

Many of us may find ourselves in a similar condition
someday.Hopefully we will never attempt
taking our own lives.Nevertheless, our integrity
has been compromised by the bad choices we have made.We choose to hang onto to grudges rather than
to forgive.We have robbed people of
their good name if not their purses without making amends.We continually put ourselves first with
hardly a thought for the suffering.Surely
these sins have led us away from Jesus.

As we pray for the souls of all today, we rightly assume
that others one day will pray for us.We
pray that despite their sins they have come to know Jesus.We pray that he will not reject them however
great their sins may be.At the same
time we utter a prayer for ourselves as well: that we recognize the sins that
we have committed, have made reparation as far as possible, and that God will
be merciful to us as well as others.